Apple is Considering a Switch to AMD Processors?

Apple's recent talks with AMD suggest the company may soon change its source for the microprocessors used in its notebooks and desktops, according to an AppleInsider report.

Representatives for the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based AMD have recently been seen on Apple's Commuter Coach buses, and executives for the chipmaker have been spotted on their way out of meetings with members of Apple's top brass, according to people familiar with the matter.

The meetings have reportedly included briefings by AMD that have since enabled Apple to begin working with AMD processors in its labs as part of an initiative to position the chips inside some of the company's forthcoming products. While AMD offers a variety of embedded processors, Apple is believed to be investigating the chipmaker's workstation and notebook class CPUs.


AppleInsider believes that Apple may have knowledge about competitive products AMD has in the pipeline. It is also possible that AMD is willing to adopt some of Apple's designs to obtain their high profile business. This would allow Apple to develop customized x64 CPUs for Macs similar to how they optimized the A4 ARM SoC used by the iPad.

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